Fix NDIS Buffer Too Short 0x80340016 Error

NDIS buffer too short error on Windows when a driver or app sends a packet smaller than expected. Usually a driver issue, not hardware. Here's how to fix it.

You're running a network-heavy app, maybe a VPN client or a virtual switch, and suddenly the network stack throws 0X80340016 — ERROR_NDIS_BUFFER_TOO_SHORT. The packet you sent is smaller than what the NDIS driver expected. This happens with Hyper-V, WSL2, or third-party firewall drivers. I've seen it most often after a Windows feature update rolls out, when a NIC vendor's driver hasn't caught up.

Root Cause in Plain English

NDIS (Network Driver Interface Specification) is the layer between your network card and Windows. When a driver submits a buffer to hold packet data, it has to match a minimum length. If the driver is old or buggy, it might pass a buffer that's too short. The OS then bails out with this error instead of processing the packet. It's not your hardware failing — it's a software mismatch. The culprit is almost always a network adapter driver that's out of sync with the current Windows build.

Fix: Step-by-Step

Update your network adapter driver. Go to Device Manager, expand “Network adapters,” right-click your NIC, and choose “Update driver.” Select “Search automatically.” If Windows doesn't find anything newer, check your motherboard or laptop manufacturer's site — they often have a newer driver than what Microsoft pushes.
Roll back the driver if the error started after an update. If you recently updated the driver and this error appeared, go back to the previous version. In Device Manager, right-click the NIC, select Properties, then the Driver tab, and hit “Roll Back Driver.” This has saved my ass more than once.
Reset the TCP/IP stack. Open Command Prompt as administrator and run these commands:
```
netsh int ip reset
netsh winsock reset
```
Reboot after. This clears any corrupt socket or IP configurations that can mess with NDIS.
Disable and re-enable the network adapter. In Device Manager, right-click your NIC and select “Disable device.” Wait five seconds, then enable it again. Forces the driver to reinitialize.
Remove and reinstall the driver completely. If the above steps fail, uninstall the NIC driver (check “Delete the driver software for this device” when prompted). Then reboot — Windows will reinstall the default driver. Test if the error disappears.

If It Still Fails

Check if the error correlates with a specific app. If it's tied to a VPN or firewall, uninstall that software and see if the error goes away. Also look at Event Viewer under “System” for NDIS-related warnings that might point to a specific driver call. In some cases, a BIOS update for your motherboard resolves weird NDIS issues — you'd be surprised how often that's the fix.

One more thing: if you're on a laptop, try toggling the wireless adapter's power management. In Device Manager, go to the adapter's Properties > Power Management and uncheck “Allow the computer to turn off this device.” Power-saving states can cause NDIS to drop buffers sporadically.

If none of these get you running, you're likely looking at a deeper incompatibility between the driver and your Windows build. Post the exact driver version and Windows build in a forum — someone else has hit it, and they'll have the workaround.